Morrocan Chicken

I was so excited to use my new clay baking dish. It is pretty much a tangine without the top. When we bought it, we were told to soak it in water for 48 hours to soften it for cooking. After that was complete, I got it ready to use. What better way to put it to use then by cooking a Moroccan dish. If you do not have any earth ware or a tangine just use a regular baking dish. When I popped this out of the oven and lifted the foil it smelt amazing, I had not even saw it yet. However, when I did wow, it was beautiful. Each piece was enough to make you close your eyes and say ?mmm? it was filled with so many flavors.

1 chicken cup into 8 pieces
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 (1 inch) piece of ginger, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 tablespoon sea salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 tablespoon za?tar
1 teaspoon sumac
1/2 lemon, finely sliced
1 pinch saffron threads

1. In a clay or 12-inch round baking pan, drizzle olive oil. Add chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, cilantro, parsley, salt, pepper, za?tar, sumac and saffron evenly. Add lemon slices atop chicken. Cover with foil tightly.

2. In a pre-heated 350 F oven, cook chicken for 1 hour.

Yields: 3 servings